Each of the area’s high school boys lacrosse teams earned plenty of impressive victories during the week of the April school break, but the highlight was one rival getting payback at another.
Skaneateles had lost at Marcellus on April 3, but when these two sides met again at Hyatt Stadium on Thursday afternoon, it was the state Class D no. 8-ranked Lakers getting the best of the no. 3-ranked Mustangs by a score of 11-8.
They were tied, 1-1 when Grayson Brunelle and Pat Hackler hit on back-to-back goals bridging the first and second quarters. After that, Skaneateles never trailed again.
It was 4-3 at halftime when the pace picked up in the third period, but every time Marcellus though it would catch up, the Lakers offered an emphatic answer, eventually gaining a bit of a cushion in the final minutes.
Hackler augmented his goal with a season-best five assists, the passes often going to John Danforth, who scored five times as Evan Brunelle got two goals. Nick Wamp and Brendan Powers each had one goal and one assist.
Skaneateles did a solid job containing everyone on the Mustangs except Liam Tierney, who got four goals and two assists. Luke Ingianni was held to one goal, matching Tighe Powell, Matt Connell and Emmett Barry. Rob Seeley finished with 12 saves as Lakers counterpart Luke Renaud had 10 saves.
Before this, Skaneateles had followed up its April 13 win at Cazenovia with another great effort against Homer last Tuesday, nearly blanking the Trojans while winning a 13-1 decision.
Against the same Homer side it beat two weeks earlier to give head coach Ron Doctor his 500th career win, the Lakers streaked to an 8-0 halftime lead and didn’t let up on the defense, Luke Renaud and Connor Ellison combining for seven saves.
Powers, with five assists, anchored an attack where Wamp scored three times and Powers, along with Danforth and Grayson Brunell, had two goals. Evan Brunelle had a goal and assist, as did Ben Spinelli, with Bauer Morrissey and Ryan Gick adding goals.
Westhill, who had gone up and down throughout the season’s early stages, impressively turned back Auburn 14-6 last Tuesday afternoon, jumping out 6-2 in the first quarter and doubling that margin before it was done.
Will Delano proved tough to stop, scoring four times and adding four assists. Jack Grooms and Charlie Bolesh each had three-goal hat tricks, Reilly Sizing getting a pair of goals as Ryan Gilmartin and Mack Etoll had one goal apiece.
Off until Saturday, Westhill, no. 12 in the state Class C rankings, hosted LaFayette, and it proved a tough battle as the Warriors saw a 5-2 lead slip away during the game’s middle stages.
But in the fourth quarter, Westhill outscored the Lancers 4-1 and won the game 13-10, with Sizing setting the pace thanks to his four goals, while Bolesh got three goals and one assist. Jack Grooms and Griffin Grooms each had two goals and one assist, with Delano and Dominick Demperio also finding the net.
Jordan-Elbridge played last Monday against Holland Patent and had little trouble putting away the Golden Knights 19-5, the Eagles steadily producing goals as it built a 13-4 halftime advantage.
Wade Brunelle and Luke Pinckney each had five goals and three assists. Deacon Hill had a goal and three assists, with Nick Long scoring twice. Tyler Scott, Anthony Baron, Caleb DeCola, Joel Blasko and Tyler Fietta had single goals and Riordan Parker earned two assists.
Then J-E got a 10-9 win at Chittenango on Thursday afternoon, jumping out 4-1 in the first quarter and spending the rest of the game fending off the Bears’ many comeback attempts.
Pinckney, with four goals, led the Eagles this time around. Brunelle and Parker both got two goals and one assist, with Hill adding two assists and Fietta getting one goal and one assist. Landry LaFleur also had a goal. Each of Steve Tripp’s 14 saves proved important.
